Missing Indigenous children: a third review since the Act came into force

QUÉBEC CITY, April 25, 2024 /CNW/ - Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit Ian Lafrenière today submitted in the National Assembly the third annual report on the administration of the Act to authorize the communication of personal information to the families of Indigenous children who went missing or died after being admitted to an institution. The third report reviews the administration of the Act for the period from March 1, 2023, to February 29, 2024. The Minister will visit Pikogan on April 26 to present the report to the families concerned and inform them of the initiatives carried out since the submission of the previous report.

The Act came into force on September 1, 2021. It seeks to support Indigenous families in their quest to get answers on their children who went missing or died after being admitted to a health or social services institution prior to December 31, 1992. Through the legislation, the Québec government wishes to help the families and their communities shed light on the fate of their children. Everyone concerned hopes in this way to grasp the circumstances in which the children went missing or died, establish where they are or if they are still alive, or find their burial place.

In the wake of the submission of this third report, the Minister noted that as of February 29, 2024, two and a half years after the Act came into force, 116 families had called on the Direction de soutien aux familles and its partner, Awacak – petits êtres de lumière. The research concerned 199 children who went missing or died.

The Québec government is determined to do all that it can to assist the families in their quest for the truth. In collaboration with the institutions covered by the Act, the Secrétariat aux Relations avec les Premières Nations et les Inuit will continue to support the families in a spirit of respect for their dignity, needs, and pace on their path to healing.

"The submission of this third annual report reveals the progress achieved in recent years. All the teams mobilized will continue to work with determination to give answers to the families that have waited for too long. It is with considerable humility that I present this report to them. I would like to thank the families for their strength, courage, and trust in this process, which, I hope, will bring them some measure of comfort and peace. I would like to thank Awacak-petits êtres de lumière and the Direction de soutien aux familles for their outstanding efforts."

Ian Lafrenière, Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit

Highlights:

• Between 1940 and 1980, Indigenous children evacuated from their communities to health or social services institutions were rarely accompanied by a parent or loved one. They arrived alone to receive care. Following such admissions, certain families learned of their child's death. Other families lost track of their children and do not know what became of them.
• The Act to authorize the communication of personal information to the families of Indigenous children who went missing or died after being admitted to an institution was adopted in response to the 20th call for justice in the report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
• It proposes culturally reassuring measures to support families in their search for information in health or social services institutions, organizations, or religious congregations on the circumstances surrounding the death or disappearance of a child after being admitted to a health or social services institution.
• The Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit appointed a special family support advisor in June 2021. Anne Panasuk had a mandate to support the Minister in the administration of the Act by ensuring optimum relations and communications between the Indigenous families and the Québec government. Her mandate ended on June 30, 2023.
• The Direction de soutien aux familles was also established to offer direct assistance services to the families and their loved ones in their search for information.
• Awacak – petits êtres de lumière is collaborating with the Direction de soutien aux familles to ensure that the loved ones of missing children are treated with dignity in a spirit of respect for their culture throughout the process.

Relevant links:

www.autochtones.gouv.qc.ca 

http://www.quebec.ca/enfantsdisparus

www.facebook.com/SRPNI

SOURCE Cabinet du ministre responsable des Relations avec les Premières Nations et les Inuit

Source: Maxime Tardif, Press Officer, Office of the Minister Responsible for Relations with the First Nations and the Inuit, Telephone: [phone]; Information: Media Relations, Direction des communications, Ministère du Conseil exécutif, Telephone: [phone], [email protected]